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There is something rotten in Brooklyn right now and Philadelphia 76ers fans are downright giddy. Ben Simmons is already on the outs with the Nets as new trade rumors circulate, and calls for him to be sent down to the NBA G League run wild.
Is it bad karma for Sixers fans to delight in another man’s misfortunes? Maybe. Then again, Simmons has done little to rectify his current situation or his last one. According to Shams Charania, his teammates and coaches in Brooklyn are openly questioning his “passion for the game.” That’s never a good sign.
According to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation, the frustration surrounding Simmons had been building in recent weeks within the organization. The coaching staff and players have been concerned about his availability and level of play, with some questioning his passion for the game, those sources said. But even when he did play, Simmons’ struggles in his first nine games this season were part of the Nets frustration as well.
Fans Calling for Simmons to Hit NBA G League
Twitter has been abuzz with Philly fans shouting “told ya so” to the Nets. There was a small faction of people that blamed Simmons’ divorce on the Sixers’ organization, namely Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid for throwing him under the bus. Never mind that those two were among his most loyal supporters last season. Now some are calling for Simmons to be sent to the NBA G League until he figures it out.
Simmons is averaging career lows across the board this season: 5.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. More alarmingly, the one-time Defensive Player of the Year candidate has looked like a shell of himself when guarding elite players. Brooklyn has hovered near the bottom of the league in the team defensive rankings for much of the 2022-23 campaign.
The 26-year-old is blaming left knee soreness for his struggles and continued rehab from “microdiscectomy surgery” on his bad back dating back to last season. No one is saying Simmons is lying about being injured, but it just always seems to be something.
“But for me, I’ve been dealing with the knee since the start of the season,” Simmons told Charania. “It’s been swollen. I had PRP (injections). I had blood drained a couple times. So it’s not a made up thing, you know? It’s a real thing.”
Philly Homecoming for Simmons: Nets vs. Sixers
The Sixers will host Simmons and the Nets on November 22 at Wells Fargo Center in a game slated to tip at 7:30 p.m. The crowd will no doubt be raucous and rowdy as they welcome the franchise’s former No. 1 overall pick back home. Maybe everyone needs to go easy on him as he continues to navigate the mental issues that plagued his final days in Philly.
“I still don’t believe Ben Simmons has come out of that mental fog that happened to him in Philly,” Shannon Sharpe said on Undisputed. “And sometimes that feels like an injury. He just seems like a lost cause. It’s one thing after another.”
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